Our Hideout Project

Feeling the need to take on a larger project, and still on the search for a design identity. I embraced my tendency to create graphic pieces that use unusual materials and processes.

Sourcing a cool looking slice of birch tree from a friend, I had the perfect opportunity to create something with impact for the soon-to-be decorated boardroom at work, showing off the design agency and the unusual skills we have in house. After a few laborious hours of rubbing and sanding it down, it was ready to have a design etched into it.

I went through loads of potential ideas, from drawings to lettering styles, but finally found a quote from an old Batman film that fitted with where the piece would be hung, and got to work hand drawing the letterforms. Going through various sketches and mock-ups I eventually decided on a layout, then traced it on the wood.

The next stage was to crack on with the stippling process. Combining wood burning and stippling was a technique I hadn’t seen many places before, and just stippling the outlines of the letters, creates a negative space effect and keeps the focus on the detail of the intricate dot work.

With over 100 hours put into this project in total, I’m really happy with how it has turned out, and how it has honed my stippling skills, now have a look at some of the pretty pictures I took of it out in the wild.

Bodoni Type Specimen

Following the brief set by ISTD for their 2014 Student Competition, I explored the ITC Bodoni typeface by using a quote from the original designer, Giambattista Bodoni. By utilising the letterforms at large and small scale the versatility and beauty of the typeface can be seen.

The hits of dark blue and bright green give the booklet some depth and show how the typeface works in colour. Being a more traditional format it allows the user to appreciate the aesthetics of Bodoni and follow the quote through the different pages, engaging with the italic, bold and regular weights.

Egyptian Slate Type Specimen

With the brief set by ISTD for their 2014 Student Competition, the task was to create a new and exciting way to present Egyptian Slate Pro in a specimen.

Using the idea of children's play blocks I created an engaging and interactive specimen, allowing the user to get a tangible feel for the typeface, while having a little fun trying to create words (which is harder than it looks with the letters there).

All encased in a hand-made wooden box with a small sleeve, this type specimen breaks from the traditional booklet concept.

A Brief History of BMX

Inspired by my love of BMX, this infographic book details the history of the relatively young extreme sport, from tricks and competitions to ground-breaking products and magazines.

With the aim to make it accessible to everyone, not just BMXers, I pared the design right back and didn't clutter the pages with redundant elements. It's short length also helps to engage and not bore, leaving the user wanting more but knowing the key facts.

The use of vector illustrations and the typeface selection was specifically chosen to create a clean and strong aesthetic, with the pastel coloured pages creating natural chapters and enhancing the other design elements.

Deja Voodoo

Working with a music student at my university to create a logo, business card and CD cover for a New Orleans style band he played guitar in, I got to immerse myself in the aesthetics of New Orleans music and arts. Going to see the band perform gave me some inspiration of how to translate their sound into a design.

The client was insistent about incorporating the traditional fleur du lis, and by matching it with the skull, embellishments and Western style typeface, I think I have moved away from it being a cliched image to one that represents the band more closely relating to the voodoo aspect.

The CD cover and business card are both printed on a highly textured stock that when handled creates wear, giving it a unique and more authentic feel.

For The Love of Type

The Design Museum's Design Factory 2013 brief called for the use of unusual materials, and this brought me out of my comfort zone and take on the concept of an artists book.

With bulsa wood pages, cardboard and foil letter shapes and a hard wood base, all linked together with two thick wire loops, "For the Love of Type" was made to showcase the dedication that goes into designing typefaces.

On each page is a different letter of the alphabet in a different typeface. There becomes a challenge to guess the typeface, with the answers subtly situated on the back of each page.

- Shortlisted for Design Museum 'Design Factory' 2013 Symposium

Bored of BMX

Sparked by a passing comment by my friend, this set of magazine spreads (complete with all my own photography) takes the form of a 'rider interview' focusing on the striking imagery and balancing the type throughout all the spreads.

Kent Gourmet Market

The growth in popularity of gourmet food influenced by cooking programmes on television, was the ignition for this project to brand and create a set of posters for a new Kent based farmers market.

The brand mark is used throughout the posters always over an evocative image of fresh food and lush green fields of vegetables. The posters themselves are simple in their form all with varying information relating to consecutive months.

Shutter Nutters

'Vintage' as a trend has become very popular in recent years in all areas including fashion and homeware. One area I felt has not been fully explored is vintage cameras and photography. Companies like Lomography and Polaroid have been leading the way back to analogue on a global scale, however at a more national and local level I feel there is something lacking.

With this project in my final year of university I wanted to create and brand a vintage camera shop situated on the South-east coast, in Brighton. I wanted to encapsulate the new and old, drawing from the cameras construction themselves and the icons engraved into the strong metal frames.

The colour scheme takes inspiration from Kodak film canisters, with the contrasting black and yellow, but also the bright yellow creates a very up to date and modern feel.

Typographic choice was considered greatly and eventually after looking into some old camera advertisements, I decided on Gill Sans due to its timeless nature but still gives a sense of the vintage feel. Leading it slightly wider at 25 also adds to the effect.

The shop isn't just for camera enthusiasts, it aims to attract the more design orientated minds in all aspects of life. Photography brief can become quite cliche if you are not careful, but I think Shutter Nutters has achieved the balance I was looking for when starting this project.